'Spartacus' stars reveal prequel details

Spartacus: Blood And Sand stars Lucy Lawless and John Hannah have revealed details of the upcoming prequel miniseries Gods of the Arena.

Lawless told fans at this year's Comic-Con that the new six-parter will explore gladiator arena the Ludus in its early days.

"The Ludus is not at the top of its game. It’s all second-rate," she said. "I don’t think anybody’s killed anybody yet so they’ve got that going for them. They’re pretty normal Roman folks at the start and you just see them being corrupted by their circumstances."

Her co-star Hannah confirmed: "The prequel will be about the rise of the gladiator arena as a spectacle in the city. At this point the arena itself is a much smaller affair."

The pair also explained that the miniseries will match the original show's tense atmosphere and bloody violence.

"It’s jam-packed with manoeuvring," said Lawless. "It doesn’t ease into the series."

"I believe there’s prosthetics for violence that happens in the first episode," added Hannah.